This paper collects a unique data set of classified ads and exploits quasi-random variation in the applicant pool composition to test for hiring discrimination against immigrants in South Africa's informal sector.
... See More + Consistent with a tournament models in which immigrants are penalized, the analysis finds that foreigners and natives benefit from being pooled with foreign job seekers. Next, the paper tests whether discrimination affects search behavior. Controlling for location fixed effects, the analysis finds suggestive evidence for sorting: immigrants search further away and higher discrimination in the residential area is positively correlated with the decision to search in different suburbs.
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A major concern with the rapid spread of technology is that it replaces some jobs, displacing workers. However, technology may raise firm productivity, generating more jobs.
... See More + The paper contributes to this debate by exploiting a novel panel data set for Chilean firms in all sectors between 2007 and 2013. While previous studies examine the impacts of automation on the use of routine tasks by middle-educated workers. this study focuses on a measure of complex software that is typically used by more educated workers in cognitive and nonroutine tasks for client, production, and business management. The instrumental variables estimates show that in the medium run, firms' adoption of complex software affects firms' employment decisions and the skill content of occupations. The adoption of complex software reallocates employment from skilled workers to administrative and unskilled production workers. This reallocation leads to an increase in the use of routine and manual tasks and a reduction in the use of abstract tasks within firms. Interestingly, the impacts tend to be concentrated in sectors with a less educated workforce, suggesting that technology can constrain job creation for the more skilled workers there. The paper concludes that the type of technology matters for understanding the impacts of technology adoption on the labor market.
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This paper uses nationally representative panel data and a combination of econometric approaches, to explore linkages between rural non-farm activities (wage and self-employment) and household welfare in rural Malawi.
... See More + The paper analyzes the average treatment effects and distributional effects on participants' welfare indicators, such as households' per capita consumption expenditures. Then it investigates the effects of non-farm activities on the use of agricultural inputs, one channel through which non-farm employment might improve the welfare of rural households. Although participation in non-farm activities is not randomly assigned in the data, the identification strategy relies on fixed effects and correlated random effects estimation methods, dealing effectively with time invariant heterogeneity, coupled with geographical covariate adjustments, controlling for time varying differences in local market conditions and employment opportunities. The results suggest that non-farm wage employment and non-farm self-employment are welfare improving and poverty reducing. However, households at the lower tail of the wealth distribution benefit significantly less from participation than the wealthiest. Although the results support the promotion of the rural non-farm economy for poverty reduction purposes, they indicate that targeted interventions that improve poor households’ access to high-return non-farm opportunities are likely to lead to bigger successes in curbing rural poverty.
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The development objective of the Inclusive Partnerships for Agricultural Competitiveness Project for Philippines are to improve access to markets and to enhance the competitiveness of smallholder farmers in the targeted agrarian reform community clusters.
... See More + The project will achieve its stated objective through the implementation of the following three components. The first component, support services for enhanced market linkages is to enable the FOs in the ARC clusters to become more competitive in terms of farm productivity, product quality and access to market. It would: (a) strengthen the capacity of farmers and FOs to engage in commercial agriculture opportunities; (b) improve the extension, business development, and land tenure services; and (c) provide physical infrastructure investments to support productivity improvements and market access. The component has three sub-components: (i) Extension and Business Development; (ii) Land Tenure Improvement; (iii) Rural Infrastructure; The second component, Investments in Productive Partnerships is to support smallholder farmers in the ARC clusters to increase their competitiveness, business orientation and market position and to make them attractive business partners in the value chain. The third component, Project Management, Monitoring and Evaluation is to provide support to the project implementing agencies at thecentral, regional, and provincial levels in project management and coordination, technical operation, financial management, procurement, social and environmental safeguards, and monitoring and evaluation(M&E).
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The development objective of the State Employment and Expenditure for Results Project for Nigeria is to enhance employment opportunities and access to socio-economic services, while improving the public expenditure management systems in the four states.
... See More + Some of the negative impacts are included : (i) increase in amounts of particulate emission/dust; (ii) exhaust fumes from vehicles; (iii) Traffic disruption during rehabilitation/construction; (iv) noise and vibration; (v) nuisance to nearby residential areas; (vi) disruption to market activities and residents around project site; (vii) sudden discovery of historical/archaeological artifacts from underground(chance find) dust; (viii) damage to flora, displacement of soil fauna,soil erosion; (ix) increase in waste generated; (x) Increased human faecal waste and public nuisance; (xi) accidents involving pedestrians; (xii) collapse of heavy equipment being conveyed to rehabilitation work area; (xiii) dust from soil, cement, grinding, welding, cutting, brazen surfaces etc.; (xiv) Contractor’s camp management; Some of the mitigation measures included : (i) sprinkle water to minimize dust. covering of hauling trucks carrying sand to avoid dust emission. hire vehicles that are in good condition; (ii) Use clean fuel for vehicles and service them as at when due; (iii) provision of carefully planned diversion route during rehabilitation. inform residents prior to start of work; (iv) use of ear plugs/ear mufflers for construction workers and noise silencer be installed on all exhaust system. limit work to daytime in built up areas when residents are not asleep; (v) sensitize market men/women and people living around project site; (vi) cleared areas should be revegetated to mitigate against erosion; (vii) contractors should limit vegetation clearing to minimum areas; (viii) avoid critical habitats with significant biodiversity; protected natural sites, and areas of cultural, historic or religious significance; (ix) implement site specific waste management plan; (x) provision of on-site sanitary facilities. Dispose waste through the municipal waste management system; (xi) education and training of PAPs about the project and accident occurrence. construct speed bumps; (xii) incorporate occupational Health & safety (OHS) Plan; (xiii) provide site conveniences for both male and female workers. dispose human faecal waste through the municipal waste management system in the project areas.
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This paper looks at the structural marginalization of eth-nic, religious, and sexual minorities in six pilot economies (Bulgaria, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, Tanzania, and Vietnam) and proposes a new methodology for collecting cross-country comparable data on antidiscrimination legal frameworks.
... See More + The data cover six areas of law, ad-dressed by six indicators: (a) access to institutions, (b) access to education, (c) access to the labor market, (d) access to property, (e) access to public services and social protection, and (f) protection from hate crimes and hate speech. The laws, policies, and regulations presented fall under one of these indicators. For each, the paper attempts to identify the minority gap, the difference between the legal treatment of the ruling majority and that of the minority. Data were collected through two sources: first, standardized surveys submitted to ombudsman institutions, lawyers, academics, and civil society organizations; second, public government records on laws and regulations and data from international legal databases and human rights organizations. The idea driving the study is that institutional measures that hamper the access of ethnic, religious, and sexual minorities to the labor market and financial systems directly affect their economic performance and, as a consequence, represent a cost for the economy. Among the findings of the study is that antidiscrimination labor legislation is well developed in all six pilot economies, but many gaps still exist in access to property and in access to public goods and social services. The study also found that, of the three groups covered by the study, the least protected under the law are the sexual minorities. Although data from six economies cannot provide statistical evidence, findings suggest the need for further research. The authors hope to encourage a wider debate on the consequences of systematic discrimination against minorities and to help governments critically review their legal frameworks to ensure equal opportunities for all citizens, regardless of religion, ethnicity, gender identity or sexual orientation.
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This paper examines the short-term impacts of a labor-intensive public works program on household welfare and economic prospects. Using a community-level randomized control trial approach, the paper finds that the public works program targeted at youth in Sierra Leone successfully provided temporary employment to youth characterized by low educational attainment.
... See More + Cash income among program participants increased by nearly three times relative to the control counterparts, and treatment households experienced a 29 percent rise in monthly income. There is also evidence of significant re-optimization of household labor allocation and expenditure in response to program participation. First, there is an overall crowding-in of labor force participation by household members beyond program participation. Second, the extra income is spent partly to improve the quality of life and partly to secure future earnings. The treated households raised spending on food, medicines, and assets. They also expanded utilization of health services. Meanwhile, the consumption of temptation goods was greater, albeit by a small amount, and the rate of absenteeism among students was higher. To secure future earnings, the treated households set up new businesses: they were nearly four times more likely than the control households to set up new household enterprises. They also boosted their participation in informal savings groups and their investments in their homes and existing businesses. These results demonstrate that public works interventions have considerable potential as productive safety nets in post-conflict settings such as Sierra Leone. They can provide immediate income support, but also open avenues for investment in the productive capacity of poor households.
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This brief explains about the inclusive business company profile Alquería S.A. Alquería S.A. is Colombia’s third-largest dairy company engaged in the production and marketing of a wide rangeof Ultra High Temperature (UHT) dairy products.Founded in 1959 by Dr.
... See More + Jorge Cavelier, Alquería is still majority owned by the Cavelier family. Dr. Cavelier saw an opportunity for a more modern approach to milk processing and was the first to process raw milk in the Colombian market. With revenues of 307 million dollars in 2011, over 3,500 employees, and more than 6,000 farmers and third party suppliers, Alquería is one of the leading dairy producers in Colombia. On a national level, as of 2011 Alquería controls 13 percent of the milk market, and leads the UHT market with a25 percent share. Colombians consume around 140 liters of milk per year, making Colombia the second largest consumer market in Latin America, after Costa Rica.
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